First of all was the coolant filled using the proper procedure ? If not the= re could be an air pocket.=20
Second a Tstat cannot be designed to failsafe open, and EVERY time that eng= ine overheats the stat could go bad. Luckily they are cheap.
Third the radiator could be clogged at the bottom.=20
To check it out, first of all run it with the radiator cap off, I DO NOT me= an the reservoir, I mean the radiator itself. Some actully do not have one = but that vehicle should. Fill the water and rev the gas using the throttle.= If the water comes up you need a head gasket at least. If the water does n= othing try a water pump, I have actually seen them with broken impellors in= ternally.=20
If the water does suck down, regardless of if the Tstat is open or not, sus= pect the radiator itself. It could be half clogged. You have no way of know= ing except maybe to run the vehicle until it gets really hot and compare th= e temperature of the top and bottom of the radiator. The top will always be= hotter but, then you have to guage how much. Let's put it this way, if it = is about to boil over and you can put your hand on the bottom of it, it's c= logged. However on that vehicle I dount you can do that.=20
Got one of those heat detecting gun jobbies ?=20
Anyway, unless you have an EXTREMELY wierd engine management problem or a h= ead or head gasket leakage, I have the solution. I have done it a few times= because you don't f*ck around with two things - cooling and oil.=20
If I verified that there was no head/gasket problems I would get a recored = radiator, a new water pump, thermostat as well as hoses. And a belt for the= hell of it. Put it all in at once and then follow the proper filling proce= dure.=20
First of all in my cars, even though it is not recommended, fukum - pure an= tifreeze. You put it in and then start it. You run it as it sucks it down. = THIS TAKES TIME. you keep on filling it and filling it until it starts comi= ng out, BUT before you call it full you MUST see the coolant circulationg. = You will see it spurting out the tubes inside the radiator.=20
However if it doesn't have an actual radiator cap, which is not that unusua= l anymore, there will be an air bleed, most likely at the top of the Tstat = housing, but not always. A 1997 vehicle should be as I described, and a For= d will be using a conventional cooling system, not a polypropylene or oil b= ased system so what I said should apply.
Before investing all that money though, run a compression check just to mak= e DAMN SURE you don't have a headgasket problem. They are more common than = people think. If you DO need headgaskets, get Felpro Printoseals, the metal= kind.=20
It will run better than ever, and I am not kidding. The metal gasket is usu= ally thinner which will raise the theoretical compression ratio. If it's a = V6 (likely) with hydraulic lifters there will be zero compression once you = install them. Pull the ECM fuse to turn off the injectors and let it crank = under that no load condition until it starts sounding like a car engine rat= her than an electric motor. Throw the fuse back in and start it but DO NOT = touch the accelerator. Let it idle however rough, even if it stumbles and s= talls, DO NOT rev the engine up.=20
After that you wil not only have a nice cool running engine, but more horse= power than you were used to. Believe me I have done it. Of course you only = gain that if the new gaskets are thinner than the originals. The Printoseal= s usually are, they are the equivalent of shaving the heads.
J